Saturday, August 18, 2012

Farm and Fireside 4430 - Economy Apron & Cap

1920s.

This is the time of year when some of us spend a lot of time in hot steamy kitchens, converting the garden's produce into quarts and pints of good things for the winter. The all-business economy apron and cap would be just the right thing to wear for those marathon bean-canning or piccalilli-making days. I might have a couple of these aprons handy so that after lunch I could put on a dry one.

This apron is so simple that I think you would have good luck sizing up this pattern from the layout. To give you some measurements to start with, the front length (bottom of neckline to bottom edge is 36") The width from the center line to the back edge just under the arm hole is 17 1/2".

11 comments:

I used to make this as a child's sundress. There were no buttons on the straps; the straps were crossed in the back and sewn at the shoulder seams as the four sections were put together. The hem went around the bottom, sides, front and back as a continuous operation. The sleeve openings were done separately. Cutest little thing.

Now this is what an apron is to me - a working garment that my grandmother wore to keep her clothes clean during cooking and housework because she only had three dresses to her name. The "apron-as-nostalgia-for-another-time" trend of wearing them as a fashion accessory with retro styles just makes me laugh because in their heyday that's not why women wore aprons.

Lynn The Women's Institute book on Aprons and Caps refers to these as "sweeping caps." I've also seen the term "dusting caps," and indeed they were to protect the hair from dust. My father remembers driving through central Pennsylvania in the early 1950s and seeing rural women wearing caps as they swept their front porches or hung out their laundry. I almost always tie a bandana around my head when I have a full day of kitchen work ahead of me - just to keep the hair out of my eyes when I'm elbow deep in something wet or sticky.

Phyllis It seems sort of unfair, doesn't it, that with the current rage for vintage workwear, the guys have terrific jackets, shirts, and pants, and the women have...aprons. But there have always been two types of aprons; work aprons for the morning housework and fancy aprons for afternoon tea or perhaps a little sewing or embroidery.

The current apron nostalgia tends to focus on the fancy aprons rather than the true work aprons. The evolution of aprons from real workwear to nostalgic fashion accessory seems to start in the 1970s.

Recently spent time at Penland School of Crafts and a woman from the textile class had an apron very similar to this. Her back straps were thinner and the apron was a dark cream linen, with mother of pearl buttons. I was enamored with the way it covered a lot of area and looked so perfect over everything she wore. I'm gonna take a shot at this. Thanks for sharing!!

This is so great! I am going to try to make this! I love this design, as it covers and is so forgiving. I have another more modern apron with the wrapover straps and it's so comfortable. I have the Vogue 8159 apron pattern from the 1950s and Simplicity 5201 Daisy Kingdom Apron that is similar in style, but this one I like best!

For those of you contemplating making this apron, I've add a few measurements to the post to get you started.

Lynore - the Penland apron sounds beautiful - I like the idea of both the cream linen and the MOP buttons. Be sure to post your version when you get it worked up.

Jennifer - This seems to be a very durable design. See also my post for McCall 8629 - Ladies One-Piece Seamless Apron. In the early 1980s a small independent pattern company called Friends had a very similar design which they called a canning apron. They recommended using an old table cloth or sheet for the fabric.

Love this so very very much♥ Like Jennifer, I was reminded of the similar Daisy Kingdom apron. I've made them up in the past and refer to them as my "mobious" aprons. I'm really liking that cap as well... I wear headcoverings and I'm thinking this would be a cute fun alternative for workwear. Just need to figure it out!

These are the aprons I remember my Great Grandmother wearing when I was a child. My Grandfather was born in 1925 and I remember hearing the year she was born and I think it was before the turn of the century... I think I need to make one for each of my daughters.Thanks for the memory trigger.Kirsten

The less fashionable side of home sewing

What we wear when we are not necessarily trying to communicate how fashionable we want to be is an area of interest for me. From the earliest days of commercial home sewing patterns the pattern companies produced patterns for utilitarian clothing and other objects. They must have sold, since they show up on ebay now and again, and when they do, I try to pick them up. I'll use this blog to shed a little light on this lesser known side of home sewing in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries.